Brooke Astor's son appeared before the appeals court on Thursday to argue that he didn't deserve to be behind bars.

In 2009, Anthony Marshall was convicted of taking advantage of his mother's dementia and plundering $200 million from his mother's fortune. Marshall, 88, paid back $12 million, and suffered a ministoke during his trial. His lawyer doesn't think it makes sense to send Marshall to prison to die after he paid back the money. On the other side, prosecutors believe that Marshall should serve his sentence to signal that the state will stand up for the mentally fragile. A ruling on this matter is expected next year.